John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1 Peter 5:7 – Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Matthew 11:28 – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
John 20:28 – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He came for us. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose for us. He ascended for us. For us, for all of us. Even for the ones who reject Him and defame Him. Yes for those too. For you and me no matter what is your relationship with Him He predestined all of us to receive His blessings, if we would. Read the Bible to know more.
Here is something disturbing. He willingly and of His own volition, from His love for us, did all these things for us. All He asks is for our love and to live out that love. No matter what anyone says, that is the whole of it. (Matthew 22:34-40) Read this verse and pray for understanding, this is the whole of it. So He left His home to come to save us from death to eternal life. He lived a perfect life to fulfill His destiny. He died a horrible death for us. By the might of God (Acts 13:30, Galatians 1:1, Romans 8:11), who He is, He raised Himself from death. (John 10:18) After completing all He needed to do on earth, He ascended back to from where He came. Miracle after miracle, proof of His great love after proof of His great love. If He asked us to die for Him it would be His to ask. Yet He doesn’t ask us to die for Him, He asks us to live for Him. And not to live alone, but with Him and He will help us all along the way. In fact, we should not in any way rely upon ourselves to live with and for Him, but to trust Him to take care of it all. He has given to us all we need to live for Him. (2 Peter 1:3) Family and Friends it really does come down to receiving His love and in return loving Him. We will live for Him if we love Him. (John 14:15)
He made it so simple for us. Yet we manage to complicate it. So do we, do any of us, fully live for Him? And just to prove how He has made a sure path He even made the way to be forgiven for the times we mess up, because He knew we would (1 John 1:9) So what is the calling for every person born? It is to love Jesus with all that we are and live out that love. I know, I know, so many will say “yeah but.” But loving Jesus is the whole answer. No “yeah buts” If we love the Son we have the love of the Father. If we love the Son we do not grieve and blaspheme the Spirit. Love Jesus and trust God to complete the work. And He will, if we let Him. He will if we love Jesus. How wonderful our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. How wonderful our God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 10:7-18 – So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus said that all of those who love Him, who trust Him with everything that they are, can “go in and out and find pasture.” What a profound promise that is for us while we live here on earth and extends into eternity. This invaluable, exciting and powerful promise, what it really is, will sound crazy to both the unredeemed and also to those who never learned how to approach Jesus through the leading of the Holy Spirit. But to us who have been taught, who have learned, who listen to the loving, nurturing, indispensable Holy Spirit, do or will know the meaning of this.
It should trouble those who don’t understand the words “go in and out.” As with everything that Jesus says, He meant and means it. So considering these words, what was He talking about? Certainly He was not referring to Heaven (for this discussion, as is commonly considered, Heaven is the dwelling place of God which all who love Jesus will dwell with God). It is easy to deduce that Heaven is not what Jesus was to referring to because once in Heaven we will never walk in and out of it but shall forever dwell in the presence of God, with God. So what the pasture that we can go in and out of is not our eternal dwelling place because once there, we are forever there.
So then where is this pasture that only Jesus is the Door to, that only Jesus can open to us and that is a place that we can go in and out of? First of all it is the spiritual position of being in favor with God through Jesus. No person can enter the pasture unless in favor with God through the Savior and Master Jesus the Christ Himself “If anyone enters by me.” King David declared “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:2) King David knew and loved Jesus.
Sure for David the Lord often brought him to green pastures during his shepherding of sheep days, but it was more than that. It was a place of rest, of peace, and of companionship with the Lord. It was a place of protection, where the Lord God, the great Shepherd, protected the earthly shepherd with His “rod and staff (figuratively).” It was a place of fellowship with God and that pasture that David mentioned is still available to us. Jesus still calls to us, His sheep, to come and rest in this peaceful place and joyful places. He still calls us to the hillsides to join the multitudes of followers and be with Him. And He still calls us to the place of solitude with Him. The Holy Spirit leads, Jesus welcomes us with open arms and the Father approves and gives His peace and approval. (Matthew 11:28-30)
The pasture is a place of being with the Lord. It is when we seek and find Him and spend time with Him. We can remember being in a quiet place with the Lord and the pure peace that enters us. You see this is a place that we here on earth can be with Him for times and at all times. During a hectic day at work. When life is full we can seek and find pasture with Him at any time and at all times. No trouble and no busyness can separate us from the pasture that today, that every day, we can go in and out of the pasture. It is being wrapped in His love from which we can never be separated. (Romans 8:38-39) As David described it is the best place. It is where we long to be. We don’t need to wait till we die and go to Heaven, Jesus made it available to us now by His saving work. So if you’ve never learned how to visit the pasture, and how to live in it, pray to the Holy Spirit to lead you. He will, He is calling to you right now. He will lead you to the Door and the door will open for you. Have a time with Jesus. Stay there as long as you desire. Leave when you have to and rush back with excitement. Once you know the way, it’s your privilege. Family and Friends, enjoy the presence of God today, it is part of God’s plan for us. Praise our God, our Shepherd and Door, praise God. Oh how good to lay down in His pasture. To rest in Him. Oh praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 13:1 – Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Galatians 6:2 – Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
In Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus told Peter, James and John “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” His time of being mocked, beaten, tortured and killed on the cross for them and us was upon Him. Have your friends failed you? When His closest friends failed Him, Jesus gave us an example to do with friends who fail us. He continued to love them sacrificially. He died for them. The Apostle Paul wrote of love that it is patient, that it endures all things and that it never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Jesus is our example. For those who call Him “Master” there are no “buts” He is our example. And if we find reasons for us to do otherwise, then how are we different from the Peter, James and John who failed Him at Gethsemane? Surely they were tired as three times in a row they did not obey the Lord but fell asleep rather than praying for Him. When our friends disappoint us, as we too often do also to them, let us follow the example of Jesus and sacrificially love them, unto the end. (1 Peter 2:21) 1 Peter 2:23 states that Jesus did not return hurt or insult but kept trusting and desiring to please the Father. And we likewise are called to trust the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and keep living us as He has commanded us to live. We are to love each other in the same manner, with the same strength and with the same passion as Jesus has loves us. (John 15:12) We will hurt each other, hopefully never intentionally. Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Jesus said in Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others their sin, your Father will not forgive your sins.” We are to forgive every time. No exceptions. How do we do this? We yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him make us a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The old self, the flesh, must die. (Romans 8:13) We understand to obey all the laws we must grow in the understanding that love is the answer to living out all of God’s commands. (Matthew 22:37-40) All of the laws of God are fulfilled by being filled with His love. (Matthew 22:40) And if we don’t have the love of God within, then we don’t belong to God. (1 John 4:7-8)
So family, don’t follow what the world has infiltrated into even the minds and hearts of those who call themselves by the name of the Lord. Forgive people. Love people. Don’t discard them but bear with them and help them. Will we be hurt? Yes. Will we be offended? Yes. Will we be “put upon?” Yes. And so we will grow to be like Jesus, our Savior, our Lord and Master, and our supreme example. Let us learn love and grow in it. Jesus loved us and came to earth to seek and save the lost. Let us do likewise and praise God as we do. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 9:35-41 – Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered by saying, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered by saying, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” Genesis 3:7-9 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
8 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Jesus, upon finding out that the man had been excommunicated by the Jewish authorities searched for the man and found him. And Family and Friends that is how it always is. It is not us who seeks Jesus but Jesus who seeks us. When Adam and Eve sinned the Lord sought them out so that He could minister to them. When Jonah was angry with God and went some place to be alone, it is the Lord who went to him. It is the Lord who went to cave and to comfort Elijah. (1 Kings 19:9) Jesus said that we did not choose Him but rather He chose us. (John 15:16, Ephesians 1:4) For this man who was cured of congenital blindness, it was Jesus who chose to heal him. It was Jesus who after the man was excommunicated sought out the man to complete the miraculous for the man. The beginning of the miraculous was healing his physical eyes, but the second and greatest part of the man’s healings was to open his spiritual sight so that the man would believe in Jesus. And that is what Jesus has done for us. He opened our eyes and saved us. Oh thank you Jesus!
“Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him.” The man wanted to see the Son of Man that He may believe in Him. So Jesus told him that he had seen the Him and was now looking at the Son of Man. The man immediately believed in Jesus and worshipped Him. Likely the man fell to His knees to acknowledge His newly discovered Savior. And dear Brothers and Sisters, that is what we must do every day. We should wake and start our day by giving the praise of thanksgiving to Him. Let us consider what He has done for us. In considering all He has done for us, let us consider what all He has done for us reveals to us about Him. Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who saves us from the sin nature we all inherited at birth. (Psalm 51:5) The greatest miracle that Jesus did for the man was to save his soul, just as the greatest miracle for us was to save our souls. Why? Because He loves us “For God so loved the world…” He loves us. He knows everything about us and still He loves us. It was so for the healed man just as it is for us. He indeed is good and He indeed loves us. Hallelujah!
“And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. 40 Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Now this verse does not contradict John 3:17. For those who live in the dark might not ever realize that they live in darkness until light shines into their world. When someone comes to the Lord wherever they go and whoever they are with, the unbelieving will feel judged by them even though no judgmental word was ever mentioned. The righteousness of God that lives within those who love Jesus shines outward to the world and the unredeemed are convicted of their sins, whether they acknowledge it or not, because Jesus within shines without. We let our light shine so that the Light within us will be glorified. (Matthew 5:16) This man shone after his physical healing, how much more so must He have shone after His spiritual healing. Jesus sought us for a reason. Brothers and Sisters, let the joy of the Lord flow through us to others to bring praise to Him. Praise the Lord always! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 9:24-33 – So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” 28 They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.
“So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They had already questioned the man and now they called him to testify again. Why did they do that? Did they forget some line of questioning? Was there new evidence to be examined? V18 states that they had not believed in this miraculous healing of a man born blind until they had talked to his parents. Then, they knew they could not contest that he was born blind and they could see, by the use of their own senses that he could see now. So what is it the Jewish authorities were trying to squeeze out of the man’s testimony?
The authorities say to the man that they know Jesus was a sinner (they said that because Jesus had not kept with their oral tradition regarding the Sabbath.) The man may not have been a scholar in their eyes but he showed an ability to see through the attempts to defame Jesus and He would stick only to what He knew. The man knew that it was not his job to judge who was a sinner or not, that was supposed job of the authorities. The man said the simple facts, he was born blind and now he sees. The authorities could not prove these facts wrong. We need to stick to what we know and not be enticed into things we do not know. The man simply gave his testimony concerning what Jesus had done for him. It is the same for us. Many people have read the Bible, and many think they know the Truth but do not. No matter what others say we can confidently give our testimony of what Jesus has done for us. We can testify that we were blind but now we see. We were all born (Psalm 51:5) in sin (Romans 5:12) and spiritually blind to the truths of God, but now we see because of Jesus. Stick to what we know. Jesus saved us and opened our hearts and eyes to receive the truths of God, and He Himself is the Truth. That we know. That we say.
“So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again?” That they wanted to hear his testimony again the man was aware that the authorities already knew what he said had happened. He says, why do you want me to repeat it since you are not listening to what I have said. It is not that they did not listen, but they refused to believe. The mind of a person who has his own reasons to not believe is hard to change. Not that this man was trying to change their minds, but if they would not believe, then he surely thought “alright then, believe what you will, but I’m done.” We’ve all been there.
“You do not want to become His disciples too, do you? 28 They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.” The man already knew they did not want to become disciples of Jesus. This was definitely a poke at them, and an expression of boldness they did not expect. Who was this uneducated commoner to speak like that to them? Pride brings disaster and the disaster to these authorities was not recognizing their Messiah. (Proverbs 16:18)
The sharp arrow the man had released found its home in their pride and the result was anger. They rise up their banner which their heart and words bore no witness of. They claimed to be disciples of Moses, but if they had been, they would have followed Jesus whom Moses and the Prophets had foretold of.
“We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” Yes the Lord God had spoken to Moses. (Exodus 33:11) Again, if they were disciples of Moses they should have recognized where Jesus was from. Acts 3:22 speaks of the coming Messiah and instructs the Jews to listen to everything He says. Moses gave the Law, Jesus gave the full story. As is said, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Jesus was the Messiah they all were waiting for. (Deuteronomy 18:18)
“The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” The man whom the authorities looked down upon as ignorant and beneath them now speaks back to them again. He points out that according to what they knew, a man who was born blind had never before been healed but Jesus had healed him. That should tell them that this man was from God. A miracle this powerful must have originated from God.
“They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.” Ah the ugly head of pride roars. The authorities ask who he, an uneducated man is to teach them. That refrain from pride still echoes in every part of our society. Sadly, had they been humble, had their hearts been soft and truly seeking their Messiah, they would have recognized that Jesus was He. But their pride and hard hearts blinded them. The man had his eyes opened, unfortunately the Jews refused the miracle of Jesus to give them sight and for all who did not repent, they would perish.
Let us remain humble and soft of heart and we shall receive the blessings that Father God gives to all who come to Him through Jesus Christ His Son. (Matthew 5:3-10) Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 9:18-23 – The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, 19 and they questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 His parents then answered and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already reached the decision that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be excommunicated from the synagogue. 23 It was for this reason that his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
“The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight.” The Jews chose, of their own free will, to not believe that this man was a man that had been born blind and was miraculously healed. Even more so they refused to allow that Jesus was someone from God who did the miracle. The implications of believing that meant too much. Of course we see the same kind of self-imposed blindness, through obstinacy, even today. We see the supposed great minds of “scientists” and/or atheists who declare there is no God. God declares that the person who says in his heart that there is no God is a fool. (Psalm 14:1) The Lord declares this not because someone is mentally deficient but because they are, of their own free will, self-deceived. Such a person is like a person who convinces himself that he can launch himself off a thousand foot cliff, without aid of any equipment and survive a freefall onto rocks below. The man who jumps off the cliff knows he will die, but only the insane man believes he will live. The man who says there is no God does not, in the depth of his heart and mind, believe that, but for any of a variety of reasons, forces that belief unto his own heart and mind. All people, at the core of their being, even if a lot of trash in thrown on top, believe in the existence God. They convince themselves otherwise, but don’t you let them deceive you also. They know that God exists but refuse to let that knowledge see a sliver of daylight. These Jews had seen this man themselves. They had a lot of witnesses that it was the same man blind man and they had the man himself who told him that he was him. They simply, not because the facts lead them to believe so, just refused to believe.
Under an overload of evidence they still dragged the parents out to testify that the man was their son and that yes indeed he had been born blind. They did not only want to know if the man had been blind but if he had been born blind. After all, even the man himself may not be able to testify to that but only that for all his life, as he remembers, he was blind. But his parents however could testify as to whether or not he had been born blind and they did indeed give that testimony. So the Jews had not believed that this was a man who was born blind “until” the man’s parents testified that he had been. To the Jews this was of great importance. They believed that a man who had been born seeing but had lost his sight could regain his sight. However for a man born blind to suddenly see had to be a miracle of God. Jesus had testified that He was from God, and even God Himself. but they had rejected Him. (Matthew 26:63-64, John 8:58, 5:18) So whether or not he was blind from birth was important to them. They hoped for something to hold out as some kind of evidence against the miracle. They found none.
“19 and they questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 His parents then answered and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already reached the decision that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be excommunicated from the synagogue. 23 It was for this reason that his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” His parents were smart. They gave brief and direct answers. Yes, he is our son. Yes he was born blind. They could say that they heard Jesus was the one who healed their son, but they were not there and could not be a direct witness of that. So they heard that Jesus healed him but they could not testify that they saw the healing. They certainly could not explain how Jesus did that. Just the facts.
Why didn’t the parents elaborate more or praise the Lord. These people could not be a witness at a trial in modern day courts. Imagine sitting on a jury and then hear that the witnesses were testifying under duress to not speak the whole truth because the prosecution had threatened them. Well, the judge and jury would then be suspect of the prosecution and the testimony of the witness would instantly be thrown out. The Jewish authorities had already threatened to excommunicate anyone who said Jesus was a prophet, a man from God. Now this was a serious threat in that day. There weren’t multiple temples in their city. All their close friends and their relatives went to the same temple and would be under orders to not talk to and associate with them anymore. Even more, these priests would order the people to not do business with the excommunicated. So these people were under a powerful threat that all the people were under. They didn’t want to throw their son “under the bus” but they also were afraid of their priests. They had no answers. Yes there were afraid. They told the Jewish authorities to talk to their son. The parents hoped their son would answer wisely. The son surely was not offended. It was a natural thing to expect them to do. They parents did not advocate for Jesus, but they did not defame Him either. Sometimes that is what we are expected to do as we see in Ephesians 6:10-18. That under heavy attack from the enemy, don’t give ground but stand firm in the Lord. There are times to advance and sometimes, while in the battle, the wise thing to do is stand firm and wait for relief from the Lord. So it is easy to question how faithful the parents were to their child, but we weren’t there. True they didn’t attack on their son’s behalf, but they didn’t back down from the truth they knew. Can we say that every time that Christ has been defamed or assailed we rose to defend Him? In all work situations and social occasions? These parents did their best they thought they could do. Praise the Lord for giving us His Spirit to strengthen us and give us the right words at the right time. Yes, praise the Lord. I think most of us have a time or two when we wished we had been bolder for the Lord. Yes, praise the Lord for His patience with us. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 8:48-59 – The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I do know Him, and I follow His word. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.
“The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?” Now these were religious people, but not true knowers and followers of God. Don’t be surprised, there are still plenty of knowledgeable, experienced, honored teacher and preachers around but who do not know God, and many would be surprised to find out that they do not. (Matthew 7:21-23) When this kind of religious person is confronted and exposed, how will they react? It is likely that they will tout their degrees, talk of how many followers they have, and show you’re their riches that must be blessings from God for their loyalty to Him. They will attack your lowly un-pedigreed position and your lack of official authority while missing the authority that comes from on high. They will cast aspersions on you, whether publicly or whispered behind your back. Jesus called them what they were and they were insulted by their exposure, so they attacked back
“Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.” Jesus refuted their smear that He had a demon. He simply made the clear statement that He only says things that honor God and He said that these religionists reject Jesus for speaking truth that He has heard from God, they not only smear His family and Him but they, in rejecting the words of Jesus, defame God. They continue to heap sin upon sin upon themselves.
“50 But I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word, he will never see death.” Jesus replies to them that He is not seeking His own glory, but the glory of the Father. Then He says that if anyone follows His Word, if they follow Him, the will never see death. These heated souls heat up to the point of explosion. First Jesus said He is not after His own glory and then He follows it by saying that He is the one who can keep them from dying. To these who not only didn’t follow Him but detested Him, this was logs thrown on the fire. Yet to those who understood that Jesus was speaking the Truth, and was in fact trying to help them to have their sins forgiven and their souls restored to God, His words were life. (John 6:68) All this was incredible, but yet is still happening every day in every land and among every people. It is almost certain it is happening to your neighbors. Jesus was very much being the peacemaker but they refused even though He was continuously performing miraculous signs that the Messiah would do. In fact right after this confrontation with them Jesus moves past them and performs yet another miracle. Family and Friends, since people have rejected Jesus in their physical presence, so shall their spiritual progeny today reject Jesus when today the Truth in presented to them. These with calloused hearts refuse to entertain and or believe the Truth of the Gospel. They refuse what is best to choose what is disgusting.
“The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” Doesn’t it exhaust you how Jesus keeps trying to save their eternal souls but they swat away the truth like men push away the medicine that saves them? Their response is merely argument against what they had predisposed themselves not to believe. They see Jesus as making Himself higher than the father of their faith, Abraham. Jesus, who was higher than Abraham, and worshiped by Abraham because Jesus was God, was seen by Abraham. For example, many people think Melchizedek was a Christophany. Then certainly Abraham saw Jesus. Or Jesus was given revelation about the coming of Messiah and so Abraham saw Jesus through divine revelation. These Jewish authorities reject the Truth as so many people do today. Pray for the Jews, and for all the unbelievers in the world today.
“Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I do know Him, and I follow His word.” Have you ever been in that awkward space where it is said, even in circles of confessing Christians, that it is okay to curse God if that is how you feel? They use the horrible reason that we are all only human after all. (Though believers have the Holy Spirit within and are much more than “only human.”) So if we do not go along with those who say such things then we are made out to be a more-holy-than-thou self-righteous person. Sometimes in our own small group study we are shy to admit our own faith. Jesus did not succumb to worrying what others thought of Him saying who He actually was. He boldly claimed that what He said was what His Father God had told them. If religionists didn’t believe Him, well that was them condemning themselves. For Jesus to not say who He was, would have made Him a liar which He was not. He never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15)
“Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” Jesus threw them a bone. He called Abraham their father. This was not a contraction as they were the physical descendants of Abraham. But what was not important was not their physical genealogy. Most important was to inherit Abraham’s humble spirit. It is the heart that God looks at. (1 Samuel 16:7)
“So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.” Since their hard hearts could not receive the Truth, their minds could not understand it. Jesus then reveals His divinity and what was their response, to try to kill Him.
Family and Friends, the Gospel is like a simple and beautiful garden home to live in peace with God. A place to live with God right now. To know Jesus right now. To sup with Him, to listen to Him and even to talk to Him. It is a place to dwell where His love is the very real surrounding of His love and grace for us. It is being loved by someone who knows absolutely everything about you. There is no better place than within the Truth of the Gospel. (Matthew 11:28-30) May it be so for all of us. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withPsalm 18:30 – As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
Isaiah 46:9–11 – Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a distant country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it.
Is God perfect? Should we believe that? We all either believe that or we don’t. Well we either believe that scripture is the inerrant Word of God or not. We either believe that God has given His Word to us or not. Now we know that there are many “non-believers and scholars” who believe that the scripture is not inerrant. I won’t get deep into that at this time. But I will say that my experience is that those who think the Bible is a gift from God and so is inerrant live with more faith, joy and love than those who don’t. My question is if one does not believe that all the Bible is entirely the inspired word of God, then how on earth does one believe in any of it. If some parts of the Bible are wrong, then which are and which are not and who gets to make that determination? The whole thing quickly crumbles unless one simply believes all of it and in Him.
The first church I attended was a smaller church, but packed with Bible believing, Christ following believers who emanated the love of God. At that church I remember them handing out a bumper sticker that read “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” I put the sticker on the back window of my old truck where it remains today. That declaration remains in me. If it’s in the Bible, then I believe it beyond anything I can think or imagine it. Yes, it’s simple, but the Lord God has purposely made it simple for us. Not easy, but simple. (See Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”) Family and Friends, simply believe. Doing that we will simply live in His joy.
The scriptures declare that God is perfect in every way. (Deuteronomy 32:4) If something is perfect it has no flaws and is complete and lacks nothing. Therefore something perfect is only perfect only as long as it remains unchanged. A completely white page can have no color added to it. If a single drop of blue is added, it is no longer a perfectly white page. It is completely changed. Perfect cannot have anything added or taken away from it or it will be changed from perfect. Perfect cannot change. It cannot become more perfect or a little less perfect and remain perfect or it never was perfect. But something that is perfect cannot, in truth, have anything taken from it because it is perfect and nothing can remove any part of it. Something perfect must be wholly able to protect itself and keep its perfection or it would not be perfect. If something is actually perfect then it always will be because inherent in perfection is unchanging immortality. So of course God is perfect, He can be nothing else. If God is not perfect then He is not God, but He is perfect and is the only true God.
One cannot believe only what one chooses about God and it actually be God if it differs from the Word of God. If we are able to pick and choose who God is then ipso facto it is not God, instead we would make ourselves out to be a god, but none of us are perfect so we could not be God. God cannot change and we cannot change Him because He is perfect because He is God. He is who and what He is and always has been, in entirety and that into an eternity beyond the vanishing point in the past.
Since God is perfect, He can reveal to us perfectly and simply who He is and what He has required of us. He can make what is infinitely complex into something that we can simply understand. He is God who created all of us and who sent His Son to save all of us who have been stained by the sin of the ancestor of all of us. Because of that stain only God could save us and so He sent His Son, He sent Himself, to be everything we need to be reunited with God, for Him to be everything we need to know about God. For all who want to know about God needs only to heed the words of Jesus and live with Him every day. Live with Jesus and live with God. Know Jesus and know God. Know God and know perfection. Know perfection from God and thereby increasingly know God. We never know everything about God but we can ever learn about Him. He simply will teach us. (John 14:26) God’s plan to return us all to Him through Jesus is perfect. Of course. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 8:39-47 – They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
“They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” In V33 and here the Jews had claimed that they were descendants of Abraham, that he was their father. Jesus then said to them that if they were truly Abraham’s children who they were would be by their actions. In the USA we can often tell where people are from because of their accents, such as the South, or the Northeast. Or because the Amish may dress a certain way, speak a certain way, adhere to ways of life and are known for a steadfast belief in Jesus and so they are identifiable by their actions. Who they are become apparent. So Jesus, who personally knew Abraham, knew who he was and how he believed lived. He was telling these Jews that they are nothing like Abraham. Abraham loved God and was known for his faith in Him. (Hebrews 11:8-12) These Jews didn’t even recognize the in-the-flesh fulfillment of their own prophecies. They claimed to love and follow Moses, who spoke of Jesus, but they did not obey and trust Jesus as Moses said they should. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Moses told of the Messiah, who is Jesus and God the Father had said that He would put His words in Jesus’ mouth. Which was exactly what Jesus repeatedly had told them. Jesus was letting them know the difference between a blood descendant and a spiritual descendant. Abraham knew the voice of God, and if these Jews were truly Abraham’s spiritual descendants then they would recognize the Father’s words and voice in Jesus. Unfortunately, they were not. To change and reuse a memorable line from a political debate, Jesus in our day may have said to the Jews “I knew Abraham and he was my friend. And you sirs, are no Abraham.”
They not only would not listen to and obey Jesus, they also wanted to kill Him and derail the will of God as the devil tried to in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was telling them that their actions show they are not of God but of the devil.
“They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.” Jesus has told them their actions betrayed their sin but they did not repent. Instead they insult Jesus’ mother Mary and tell Jesus that His mother had sinned and that Jesus was illegitimate. They insist that they, and not Jesus, are the legitimate sons of God. It takes believing in Jesus to see. Some will refuse to and die in their sins. (Jeremiah 5:21)
“Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” Jesus plainly told them that if God were their Father then they would believe in Him because He is saying and doing what the Father had given to them in the scriptures. He told them that He came forth from the Father. Jesus was sent by the Father. Jesus lamented that they could not listen to His word because their father is not God but the devil. Because they reject the words of God they do not have the Spirit of God within them to open His word to them. Since they do not belong to God then they belong to the devil. (Matthew 12:30) They want to kill and lie about Jesus because their father the devil is a murderer and liar. The Jews persisted in rejecting Jesus.
“But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” What do they believe? They believe what their father the devil tells them, they believe lies. All who reject Jesus believe lies.
Jesus asks them what sin they can accuse Him of and convict Him of. They could not prove Jesus of any sin. Jesus gave them the opportunity, but they could prove nothing. They could not because He never sinned. (1 Peter 1:22)
The proof of their spiritual condition was that they did not believe in and follow Jesus, ipso facto they were guilty of belonging not to God but to the devil. There is one sin for which there is no relief, it is dying in one’s sin without Jesus. These had the same destiny as the devil, if they never repented.
Family and Friends, salvation is all so simple: believe, trust and obey Jesus or do not. Choices have consequences and this choice has an eternal one. Please, know Jesus and you will have Him eternally. If He is rejected then the future for such a person is eternal darkness and torment. The choice is simple. Following Jesus is simple. Not easy but simple. God made it that way. Choose it, for your sake.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 8:1-11 – But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them. 3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. 10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” He went to pray and be with the Father. Everyone else, at the end of John 7 went to their homes. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, to prepare to go home to be with the Father and also, as He prayed with the Father, He was home.
“And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them.” Jesus was always ministering either to the masses, to the individuals and to His disciples. All who do the work of the Lord know the blessing of it, but also the exhaustion that can come. How did Jesus do it nonstop? Well, He was God and He was full of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit and sometimes the angels ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1, 14) Always the Holy Spirit ministers to us and the Lord uses angels also.
The Lord loved the people and so He loved teaching them. When you love what you do…
“Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Of course if these scribes and Pharisees had really been after enforcing the The Law (Deuteronomy 22:23-27, Leviticus 20:10) they would have brought both the adulterer and the adulteress to answer to The Law. But they only brought the woman, which betrayed their motives as V6 reveals. In fact, were they not, as the leaders of the Jews, in this way themselves sinning? The guilty condemning the guilty.
Acting righteous, but only being self-righteous, they quoted The Law to Jesus. If only they knew how clearly they revealed their own guilt and how they did not know The Law as well as they thought. Being taught by the Spirit trumps being taught by men who themselves have the insight of men but not of God.
“Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.” The Apostle John here reveals the true motive of those who were questioning Jesus. It was not for the sake of righteousness as they would falsely claim, but to put Jesus in trouble and in the wrong light to the people and to cause Him run afoul of Romans as in Mark 12:13-17. They wanted to have grounds to accuse Him. They did not learn their lesson then and repeated their error of trying to fool Him. The first pastor I learned under had often said that God is not like the current education system. He won’t pass you to the next grade if you don’t pass the one you’re in. These, because of their pride and hard hearts, did not pass and so never advanced.
Most, if not all of us have wondered what Jesus wrote on the ground. There are some fine suggestions what He may have wrote. Yet we should remember that if God doesn’t tell us, it means He thinks we didn’t need to know. Trust God about such things.
Jesus did not respond to them. The King James Version states that He stooped down and wrote on the ground “as though he heard them not.” Likely, He responded to them both by His refusal to “play their game” and by what He wrote on the ground.
“When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard.” Can you imagine how these hypocrites hushed their tirade when Jesus sudden straightened up and began to speak to them? Was Jesus going to issue a judgement against the woman? Would He side with The Law or with Roman law? Then He simply said that the one who is without sin could be the first to throw the first stone. One pastor suggests that Jesus was writing the names of those in the crowd and next to their name the woman they had committed adultery with in act or in thought. Maybe, but we don’t know. But certainly the words of the Lord stuck into their conscience and they all left. Guess they still didn’t fool Jesus as they hoped.
“And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.” And here is where the hero of all who know we are nothing more than saved sinners wins us over once again. Jesus had not contested them The Law, or the place of Roman law, or whether mercy rules over judgement. Instead He offered to the woman what He offered to her accusers, love, mercy and a chance to repent and change. He did not accuse her and scold her, He loved her and set her free to do His will and follow Him. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states that love always hopes. I like to think that woman appreciated that Jesus saved her life there and she submitted to His Lordship so that He would also save her eternal life. I hope she did and I hope that some of the accusers did to. I hope so. Love compels me to. Glory to God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob with